Sign Language & Strain
by X.Living.And.Laughing.X
Summary: Austin finally decides to confess his feelings to Ally, but as though it were a stroke of bad luck, just before confessing, Austin loses his voice, and this time it could be permanent. Will he be able to still confess to Ally in time, or will his rival, Elliot, sweep Ally off her feet before he could find a way to communicate to Ally the message?
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Sign Language & Strain

**Author:** X. Ready. Or. Not. X

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Austin & Ally.

**Summary: **Austin finally decides to confess his feelings to Ally, but as though it were a stroke of bad luck, just before confessing, Austin loses his voice, and this time it could be permanent. Will he be able to still confess to Ally in time, or will his rival, Elliot, sweep Ally off her feet before he could find a way to communicate to Ally the message?

* * *

"Tell her".

"What if she doesn't feel the same way?"

"Believe me, she does".

"What if you're wrong?"

"Please Austin, have I ever steered YOU wrong?"

"...actually many times".

"Okay, true that, but trust me on this. You can't keep it a secret forever!"

"...you know what? I'm gonna do it!"

Austin puffed out his chest and strutted toward Sonic Boom, where Ally was working at that very afternoon. It had been obvious for a very long time that Austin had a crush on his best friend, Ally, who of course was the ONLY one oblivious to this. EVERYONE knew about his crush: Trish, Dez, Mr and Mrs Dawson, Cassidy, Brooke, Billl, Kira, Dallas, Jimmy Starr, and even evil Demonica knew about his crush on Ally.

Today was not the only time he has ever argued with Dez about confessing his crush to Ally. In fact, he had this talk with Trish and Kira only a few hours before. However, what made today different was that he felt ready for some reason.

He would march into Sonic Boom, tell it to Ally straight, and they would live happily ever after. It would be THAT easy when he pictured it in his head.

Sonic Boom wasn't busy today. Austin fist pump. Perfect time to tell Ally. What could spoil this for him?

Ally sat there writing in her songbook as usual. Man, in Austin's eyes, she was perfection. She wore no make up because she didn't NEED any since she had that natural glow and beauty.

Austin rubbed his hands. "Hey Ally". Keep it casual.

"Hey Austin. Wanna work on our new song?" she said looking up from her song book. Okay, she was also playing it smooth. Let's keep this ball in the court.

"Actually Ally, there is something I need to tell you". Perfect. Nice clean shot right over the net for her to hit back. Austin was playing his 'A' game today.

"What is it?"

He opened his mouth but no words came out. He opened his mouth again, but instead came out a squealing, high pitched noise. It was familiar, like the time when Austin over used his voice doing vocal lessons all week. The time when he almost could never sing again. That high pitch noise that came out of his mouth was back.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well Austin, your voice box is in critical condition", the doctor said. Ally took Austin to the emergency room about an hour ago since his parents were out of town for some mattress convention. Austin could not say a single word the whole time.

This had happened before, but this time, it was more critical. Ally held her breath as the doctor checked an x-ray and several papers. He sighed. "I'm afraid that you may never be able to use your voice again Austin", he said sadly. Austin's eyes widened in horror along with Ally.

"W-What do you mean? Isn't it just a strain in his voice? Can't that be healed after a few weeks?" Ally asked in panic.

The doctor shook his head slowly. "Unfortunately, Austin has REALLY push his voice to the limit. He was warned last time not to strain it too much and he was lucky that his voice miraculously came through, but this time-"

Ally shook her head in disbelief. "But his music career, his singing, wh-"

"I'm sorry miss Dawson, but Austin's voice box is far beyond repair. To do surgery, well, it isn't the best option risking his life. Won't you agree?"

Ally nodded slowly, tears forming slowly in her eyes. Austin looked at her in great pain. His music career really meant a lot to her, which meant a lot to him. He slowly wrapped his arm around Ally and hugged her. She hugged him back. "I'm so sorry Austin", she said softly.

Austin merely shrugged. He then gestured toward the doctor and pointed at a pen and a notepad by the bed he sat on. The doctor handed him the two objects. Austin wrote something on the paper and handed it to Ally.

_It's fine Ally_, it said. _My music career is not completely over. I still can play instruments, dance, and write songs with you._

Ally smiled at Austin. "You're so positive, no matter what", she said.

The doctor couldn't help but grin at the two friends. "So, is he your boyfriend?"

Both Austin and Ally felt themselves turn red. "No, he's my best friend and music partner", Ally said looking at the ground.

Austin felt his smile drop from his face into a frown. He had just remembered what he wanted to tell Ally before his voice screeched. The doctor nodded, not believing her, and turned back to his work filling out the forms.

Austin grabbed the pen and notepad again and began to write,_ I love yo_-

The door slammed open and in came a worried looking Dez and Trish. Austin dropped the notepad on the floor at the loud noise in surprise. Trish and Dez walked over to his bed he was sitting on.

"Austin! ARE YOU OKAY!" Dez shouted, making Austin cover his ears.

Trish hit Dez in the head. "You idiot! He hurt his voice, not his ears!"

Ally rolled her eyes at the two silly friends as Austin watched her. Austin loved it when Ally rolled her eyes like that. She always acted more sophisticated than the others, which Austin thought was so "adorkable".

Trish finally turned to Ally. "So what's the deal with his voice?"

"He can't sing anymore, but he wants to continue his music career since he could play instruments, dance, and write songs with me", Ally responded.

Trish smirked at Austin. "With YOU, huh Ally? And was there something ELSE Austin wanted to do?" she asked Ally while looking at Austin.

Ally shook her head in confusion. She then turned to the doctor. "If it's alright, can Austin leave now?"

The doctor nodded. "Absolutely. Just come back for a check up sometimes Austin so we could determine whether you could or can't use your voice".

Austin gave him a thumbs up. The four of them walked out of the hospital silently.

Every so often, Austin would glance at Ally, but quickly look away to keep himself from blushing. His hands were only a few inches from Ally's hand...

"Austin, are you sure your okay with this?" Ally asked him.

Austin shrugged. Honestly, he was a little upset over this whole situation, but what would make him happier than being famous was to have Ally as his girlfriend. He could just picture the perfect date with her...they would have a picnic at the beach. Between kisses and hugs, Ally would feed him some pancakes...and to make everything perfect, it will also be the day that umbrellas are banned from the beach forever.

Austin started grinning at the thought of this, making Ally smile. "Wow Austin, I just love how you're so positive all the time", she said.

Austin blushed while Trish snickered. In Austin's head, he felt as though he had scored a goal in a national championship.

He had plenty of time to confess his feelings to Ally. Nothing could possible get in the way NOW, right?


	3. Chapter 3

"And here's your change sir, have a good day", Ally said as she handed her costumer the change and the instrument.

Austin watched as Ally wiped the counter and organized the cash register. He couldn't wait to have Ally to himself during practice time. Maybe he would finally be able to confess his feelings toward her finally.

Communicating was very hard now that Austin couldn't speak. Ally went online and searched up some sign language stuff for Austin to use so he wouldn't have to write things down all the time.

Austin was great at memorizing things, so he picked up the alphabet quickly. However, everyone else, Dez, Trish, and Ally didn't understand the sign language well themselves. So for example, earlier before, Austin tried to tell Dez he was hungry. But Dez thought he wanted a tiger, and went off to the zoo before anyone could stop him.

So for most of the time, Austin would just sit quietly and watch Ally. Sometimes, he would strum on his guitar or listen to music.

To Ally, it felt weird not having someone talk to her while managing the store. Austin used to be loud and a little annoying, but eventually she became used to that.

Now, silence filled the store, even though the two of them were still there.

Ally cleared her throat. "Uh, Austin? Do you want to go work on a song?"

Austin hopped off from the piano he was sitting on a nodded excitedly.

Turns out, writing a song was a pretty hard thing to do with Austin. First of all, whenever a lyric came into his mind, he would start trying to do sign languages to Ally quickly before he forgot them, but Ally wouldn't understand a thing he was trying to show.

After an exhausting two hours, Ally said at last, "Lets take a break for now", she said smiling at Austin still.

Austin returned the smile, wanting to take her into his arms and hold her there forever. A light bulb suddenly appeared on his head. Him and Ally were finally alone. Dez was at the zoo while Trish was getting fired from a job now. This was a perfect moment to finally tell Ally how much he loved her.

Austin tapped Ally, and blushed a little when she looked up at him. "What is it Austin?"

He pointed at himself.

"You?" Ally guessed. Austin nodded. He did a heart shape with his hands on his chest.

"Love?" Ally said. Austin nodded. He pointed to her...

"Ally?" suddenly came a voice from the doorway of the practice room.

Austin's smile feel for two reasons: one, because Ally did not see the last word, which was her. And two, because the one standing by the doorway was none other than Ally's best friend from camp, the person he had been insanely jealous of for being with Ally for a week...

It was Elliot.


	4. Chapter 4

"Elliot! What are you doing here?" Ally said smiling as she went to go give Elliot a friendly hug.

Elliot smiled back. "I kind of missed seeing you Ally". He saw Austin. "Hey Austin! No hard feelings about what happened last time, right?" he chuckled referring to when he and Austin were competitive with one another.

Austin managed to smile and nodded. He pointed to his throat and shook his head, showing that he couldn't talk so that Elliot wouldn't think he was being snobbish.

"Oh, you can't talk? I'm so sorry", Elliot said sincerely to Austin's annoyance. Why did he have to be so polite?

"Yeah, but we are making the best of the situation", Ally said leaning on Austin's shoulders. Nobody noticed that Austin's cheeks turned a little pink when she said this.

Elliot smiled. "Well good for you then. Hopefully, your voice comes back. All my friends just love your new albums and singles!"

Austin smiled and nodded, but inside, he was burning up with annoyance at all this politeness. Elliot was everything Ally would want: good looking, loves arts & crafts, polite...but wait. Austin suddenly smiled greatly. Elliot wasn't into MUSIC, and that was pretty much half of what Ally loved. Austin leaned back and relaxed a little.

"So Ally, do you want to hang out later? I want to show you my new guitar", Elliot said. Austin's heart dropped.

Ally looked surprised. "Guitar? I thought you weren't into music?"

"I wasn't at first, but then when I thought about it, music is a TYPE of art, and that's what I love. So I thought why not give music a try since my passion is arts. Turns out, I love it!" Elliot explained. "Now that I'm into music, I feel super embarrassed about not knowing who sang 'Rolling in the Deep'", he said looking down at his feet turning a bit red.

Ally laughed. "Yeah, that was kind of basic knowledge...but whatever! I think it's great that your so into music now! At least we will have some other stuff to talk about besides camp!"

Elliot laughed along too, knowing what she meant. Austin, however, was no longer smiling. One, because both of them were sharing a laugh together, and two, he couldn't join in or interrupt because he couldn't talk. He was also especially annoyed that Elliot had to come in at this time, just when he was about to tell Ally he loved her.

"So, you available later?" Elliot asked again.

Ally looked at her watch. "Actually, I'm available now. Me and Austin had just finished practice, and I don't have to watch the store anymore!"

Elliot beamed. "Awesome!" he turned to Austin. "I hope you don't mind me stealing her for a little", he said teasingly as Austin tried smiling at this.

Ally giggled. "Don't worry Austin, I promise we could hang out later!" she said, making Austin perk up a little.

The two walked out of the store together, leaving Austin alone. He sighed as he took out a ripped up notebook paper out of his pocket. He unfolded it and straighten it out. He had been meaning to give it Ally in case she didn't catch on with his sign language.

On the wrinkled up paper, it said three words Austin so desperately wanted to tell Ally:

_I love you. _


	5. Chapter 5

Austin gazed at the brunette as she helped the paying customer. After this, she would be all his!

See, Austin hasn't been able to get Ally to himself for even thirty minutes this week. It was like that week all over, when Elliot stole Ally from him...except this time, Austin wasn't dating Kira and Elliot was actually talking with Ally about things she actually found interesting besides arts an craft.

Even though Ally didn't notice it, there was definitely tension between the two guys. Even though Austin couldn't speak, his glare spoke louder than words. Whether Elliot noticed this or not, he simply showed off his polite, non suspicious smile. This was proof that Ally had always been oblivious to people who liked her.

"Hey Austin! Wanna do something now, just the two of us?" Ally's voice suddenly came.

Austin nearly jumped for joy at this. He nodded excitedly and pointed to the instruments. Ally laughed. "Do you want to play some instruments?"

Like a hyper seven year old kid, Austin grabbed one of the guitars and started playing it. To his biggest surprise, he saw Ally take the drums and hit them rhythmically to his beat. Austin's mouth dropped open and pointed curiously at the drums and to Ally.

She laughed a little when she saw his surprise face. "Yeah, I could play the drums. The piano isn't THE only instrument I could play!"

Austin made a pouty face and pointed at himself.

"Well you never asked, so I never told you", Ally said.

Austin shrugged. He had to give her that one.

"Hey guys!" Elliot suddenly walked into the store. Austin nearly groaned, unhappy that Elliot was putting an end to their fun.

"Hey Elliot", Ally said politely. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I just saw Trish and she was working at that nice restaurant, you know, the one near Billl's Surf shop. She told me to tell you guys that we could all come tonight and the dinner was on her".

"Awesome! We'll go!" Ally said leaning on Austin and pointed at him. "This guy gets hungry all the time, yet he is so darn skinny!"

She and Austin laughed together, not noticing Elliot's pained expression. "So, who's coming?" Ally asked.

"I believe you guys, me, Dez, and some other friends she had in mind. I guess it's like a get together..." Elliot responded, hiding his dismay of how close Austin and Ally were together.

"Cool! I'll be right back! I have to phone my dad upstairs!" Ally said clapping her hands and running up to the practice room.

Once she was out of sight, the tension level in the room had risen dramatically between the two voice.

Austin couldn't take it anymore. He took a piece a paper from the counter and a pen. He wrote on the paper and showed to Elliot, _What is going on between you guys?_

Elliot chuckled, but it wasn't his normal polite chuckle. "That's what I should be asking YOU Moon".

Austin glared as he wrote furiously onto the paper. _Ever since you came, I have barely got to spend a minute with her! If you don't mind, would you just back off a little so I could at least spend some time with MY best friend?_

"Best friend, huh?" Elliot smirked. "Friend zoned, aren't you? But I could see it. Everyone could see it except for Ally".

Austin gave him a quizzical look. Elliot rolled his eyes. "Everyone could see that you love her".

Austin looked at the floor and closed his eyes. It was no use denying it. He HAD been, after all, trying to tell Ally this for the past week but obviously failed miserably.

Elliot continued. "It took me this long to realize that...I loved her myself", he said. Austin's head shot up and glared at him. "And I thought that when I came back into town, I had probably lost her to you. But apparently, you have been stupider than I thought..."

Austin was on attack mode now, which Elliot noticed. "It's only the truth Austin. You should have told her sooner. You won't have forever. So I'm gonna take my chance now to win her heart". Austin's eyes widened.

Elliot smirked at this and walked past him. "See you at dinner tonight", he said coldly, walking out of the store.


	6. Chapter 6

"Come on Austin!" Ally yelled from the practice room. "We don't want to be late for dinner!"

Austin rolled his eyes. Actually, it was HIM that was waiting for her, but of course, he couldn't say anything. The next thing he saw nearly took his breath away.

Ally was wearing a simple, but a slim, black dress that went above her knee. Austin couldn't help notice how short it look on her. Her hair was curled at the ends so neatly that her hair literally shone.

Ally blushed when she saw Austin's reaction. "Is it okay? Do I look THAT silly? I wasn't sure if it was a formal thing. But I guess it is since your wearing your black suit. I feel like we going to a funeral in this thing, you know..." she rambled on. Austin could watch and listen to her ramble all night, but they DID have a dinner to go to.

Austin tapped his watch, making sure Ally saw, and she instantly stopped talking, now dragging Austin out of the store in a hurry. But Austin was alright with that.

* * *

"Hey everyone!" Trish said. "You guys are all looking wonderful tonight!"

It was true. Everyone was wearing fancy clothing that you couldn't get a normal teenager to wear. The place was pretty formal, but there was small stage, which Trish said was used for daily performances or if someone wanted to sing.

Cassidy, Dallas, Kira, and Ethan were the other friends Trish invited. Austin took a seat next to Ally, while seat on the other side of her remained empty.

"I heard that Elliot was gonna be coming", Trish said. "And since Ally is the only person he knows besides Austin, he should sit next to her so things won't get too uncomfortable".

Austin noticed Ally glancing at her watch every ten seconds. Austin grabbed out a pen and paper.

_Are you bothered, if he'll come or not?_ he wrote on it and showed it to Ally, not looking at her.

"W..wa… what?" Ally stuttered

Austin raised an eye brow, as if to say, "You heard me".

Ally grinned. "Of course not, I'm just curious if he'll come… hehehe…"

You don't have to pretend, he thought to himself.

"Is this seat taken?" someone asked behind Ally. Everyone looked at where the voice came from.

"Elliot!" Trish exclaimed. "Everyone, this is Elliot. Elliot, this is everyone".

"Hey, nice to meet you guys", he greeted at Cassidy, Dallas, and Ethan. "I've seen you around", he said pointing to Kira. "And yes Dez, I know you", he said looking at Dez.

"Yes! Awesome!" Dez fist pumped.

Elliot gave him a weird look before turning to Austin. "And we've talked before", he said with a little bitterness in his voice which only Austin noticed.

Austin gave him a small nod and a fake smile before looking back down at his napkin. Elliot took a seat next to Ally. After everyone ordered from Trish, everyone started making conversation with each other (well in Austin's case, he wrote or listened).

Ally turned to Austin. "Hey! Is something wrong Austin? How come your not smiling?"

He tried to smile and wrote down on his paper, _Nothing! I'm just hungry…_

"Oh!" she laughed. "You're big stomach is hungry again…"

Austin smirked and wrote,_ But not as big as yours…_ and they laughed together.

Elliot looked at them. He's hurt. Hurt of what he sees. They are laughing together, as if he weren't there at all.

Then he heard Cassidy mumbled at Ethan, "Look at them, I think they'll make a good couple someday." Then she giggled. He feels his heart was torn into pieces with every laugh that Ally shared with that guy. Did he make the right decision to come over with them? And to suffer like this?

The waiter, Trish, interrupts his anxiety. Their foods are served. They share everything and eat together. Everyone talked and laugh. It seems like they are companions for a very long time. They feel comfortable with each other. And surprisingly, Trish didn't drop a single dish!

But there are two people who didn't enjoy everything. When Ally's talking to Elliot, Austin feels so bad. He feels jealous. And when Ally's attention is on Austin, Elliot's heart suffers. They were like competing with one another, for her heart this time.

Ally begun to say something. "Hey! Elliot, why don't you sing a song for us on that stage." She pointed at the clean, unused stage.

Dez piped up, "Yeah, we haven't heard you sing, ever since we've met."

"No! I…I'm not that good in singing…" Elliot lied.

Ally tapped him hardly. "Of course you can, I heard you singing with me the other day. Remember when we play some instruments and you were amazing with the guitar."

Austin's eyes narrowed. _So they have been alone for several times…._ He frowned at the thought.

Elliot, on the other hand, feels so overwhelmed because of Ally's compliments.

"Please, sing for us Elliot." Ally pleaded.

Elliot smiled and it turned into a smirk when he saw Austin's annoyed expression. "Alright, anything for you", he said to Ally. He then walked towards the stage and asked the waitress for assistance.

Austin frowned as Ally smiled at Elliot. _If only I could use my voice, I would out sing this jerk and win Ally's heart_, he thought to himself.

Elliot took a guitar and place the strap around him. He sat at the centered chair. He smiled, scratching his head and said "This is my first time to perform in a crowd like this, so please bear with me…" he straightened up looking a little nervous.

"This song is for a very special person in my heart…" he looked at Ally. She gave him two thumbs up. She didn't even know the meaning of Elliot's introduction. He chuckled and began to strum his guitar.

_The sun goes down_  
_The stars come out_  
_And all that counts_  
_Is here and now_  
_My universe will never be the same_  
_I'm glad you came_

Ally watched happily as Elliot sang and strummed his guitar as Austin watched her. Jealousy ran through Austin's body right now. If he didn't lose his voice, he wouldn't be in this unhappy state. Ally would be wrapped up around his finger instead of him having to compete with Elliot for her heart. And right now, it was obvious Elliot was ahead on points.

Austin sighed, which Ally noticed. "What's wrong Austin?" she turned away from Elliot's performance to face the blonde boy.

He wrote on his paper, _I miss singing_. He didn't complete his thoughts, however. He DID want to sing, but only for her.

Ally gave him a sympathetic look and put her hand on his shoulders. "Aww, I'm so sorry Austin. It's my fault for that time, for making you strain your voice".

Austin shook his head, meaning she shouldn't blame herself. He leaned over and wrapped his arm around her, assuring her it was alright.

_You cast a spell on me, spell on me_  
_You hit me like the sky fell on me, fell on me_  
_And I decided you look well on me, well on me_  
_So let's go somewhere no one else can see, you and me_

_Turn the lights out now_  
_Now I'll take you by the hand_  
_Hand you another drink_  
_Drink it if you can_  
_Can you spend a little time,_  
_Time is slipping away,_  
_Away from us so stay,_  
_Stay with me I can make,_  
_Make you glad you came_

As Elliot sang, he kept his eyes on the two. His heart broke into nearly two as he saw them hugging. Was his efforts pointless at this time?They were eyes to eyes, smiling at each other and enjoying every moment. Everyone's listening to him but the person he wanted to listen to him is sitting beside the guy he….. hated. His rival… his real rival.

_The sun goes down_  
_The stars come..._

Elliot stops singing. Everyone looks at him in surprise.

"Why did he stop?" people started mumbling. Ally is the first to speak to him as she turns away from Austin.

"Elliot, what happened?" she asked worriedly.

He gave her a weak smile. "Nothing...I just forgot the next line. Sorry bout that", he lied.

Everyone at the table chuckled at this and carried on with their conversations from before. Ally looked at him in concern.

"Hey, where did Austin go?" she asked, just noticing that the blonde boy was missing. Everyone shrugged and looked around for signs of the blonde, but he was nowhere to be found in that restaurant. He had left.


	7. Chapter 7

Austin ran into Sonic Boom. He couldn't take watching Elliot and Ally converse at all. He ran upstairs to the practice room and simultaneously started strumming his guitar.

_I lost her. I lost her. Obviously, she pays more attention to Elliot than to me..._ he thought to himself.

However, as the blonde boy ran upstairs, he dropped a piece of notebook paper on the floor downstairs near the entrance without knowing.

Ally came to the front of Sonic Boom two minutes later. She panted and leaned on the door. She had just searched literally everywhere at the mall for Austin.

_Now where could he be? _she thought to herself. She opened the door, but before she stepped inside, she spotted a white, piece of notebook paper on the floor.

Ally picked it up. This had to be Austin's because she remembered cleaning the store before leaving.

She opened the paper slowly and nearly gasped at what was written on it:

_I love you Ally._

"Austin", she whispered to herself. Suddenly, she heard the sound of guitar playing upstairs in the practice room.

Smiling, she pocketed the paper and walked quietly up to the practice room.

"Austin", Ally said as she walked into the practice room. Austin was lying back on the sofa and strumming his guitar. He made no reaction to her presence. Ally sighed.

"Austin", she said again, walking to the sofa and sitting next to him. "What happened?" she asked him.

He sighed and looked down at his feet.

"Well Austin, since your my best friend, I think I should tell you something", Ally said. Austin sat up a little, but cringed a little when she said "best friend".

"I like this guy", Ally said making Austin's heart sink. "And I'm almost sure he likes me back".

Austin gave her a weak smile, trying to pretend not to be heartbroken.

Ally whispered into his ear. "And do you know who the guy is?"

Austin closed his eyes to prevent tears from coming out, but instead, he felt his lips connected with someone else's. Instantly, Austin wrapped his arms around Ally and kissed her back passionately.

They both pulled apart after a while, breathing hard.

Austin ran his fingers through her hair. He then sat up straighter and pointed at himself.

Ally smiled. "You".

Austin made a heart shape with his hands.

"Love".

Austin pointed at her.

"Me", Ally finished. "I love you too Austin. In fact..."

She giggled a little as she got up and walked over to the piano. She picked up her songbook and took out a loose piece of paper from it. She than walked back over to the couch and handed it to Austin.

Austin looked at it curiously. Ally smiled. "Open it. I wrote it on the day we met".

Austin opened it and grinned at it.

_I love you Austin._


End file.
